Observations on the Efficacy of Target Fire Red-hot Needling in Treating Articular Deformity Due to Rheumatoid Arthritis / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of target fire red-hot needling in treating articular deformity due to rheumatoid arthritis.Methods Ninety-six rheumatoid arthritis patients with articular swelling and deformity were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 48 cases each. The treatment group received target scattered fire red-hot needling and the control group, conventional acupuncture. After two courses of treatment, pre-/post-treatment changes in the self-reported pain score, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM) were observed in the two groups and the clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups. Results The total efficacy rate was 89.6% in the treatment group and 50.0% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in ESR, CRP, IgA, IgG and IgM in the treatment groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in ESR, CRP, and IgG in the treatment groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in ESR, CRP, IgA, IgG and IgM in the treatment and control groups (P<0.05).Conclusion Target fire red-hot needling is an effective way to treat articular deformity due to rheumatoid arthritis.